Diffusers



Feb. 23, 1965 J. v. FELTER 3,17

DIFFUSERS Filed Dec. 17, 1962 John 1 Fe /fe r I i INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States Patent v N ti This invention pertains to diffusers, and particularly to diffusers which are made or formed from flat sheets or webs of metal, plastic, or other suitable material."

A principal object of the invention is to provide diffusers of excellent performance which are made from flat sheets or webs of material. i

Another object of the invention is to provide such diffusers which are economical, pleasing in appearance, and easily'made and installed.

An additional object of the invention is to provide such diffusers which have improved performance.

Briefly, the invention; contemplates diffusers which are made from a single flat sheet of material, such as metal, plastic, or'other suitable material meeting the requirements set forth hereinafter- The vanes of the diffusers are formed by stamping or in other manner making cuts in a flat sheet of material so that the vanes may be bent or folded to the desired positions. The vanes overlap so that the air or other gas passing through the diffuser is distributed from a space or zone to one side of the flat sheet or web of the material from which the diffuser is made.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a diffuser of preferred design according to the invention taken at the side of the diffuser from which the vanes extend;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged partial section taken transversely of the diffuser of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a partial cross sectional view taken laterally of the vanes of a modified form of diffuser; and,

cutting out corner squares and folding the flange to the desired form. Flange 12 is usually narrow, and serves the purpose of improving the appearance of the diffuser and of making the diffuser more rigid.

A plurality of sets of diffuser vanes 14, 15, 16 are provided. Each vane is made or formed. by making a cut around the leading edge 17 of each separate vane. Then,

each vane may be bent or folded away from the plane of web 11 and shaped as desired. A plurality of the leading vane edge cuts are made to provide each set of vanes 14, 15, 16. As shown, vanes 14' are directed to diffuse air or other gas toward the lefthand side of FIGURE 1, vanes 15 are directed to diffuse air toward the lower side of FIGURE 1, and vanes 16 are directed to diffuse air toward the righthand side of FIGURE 1. These vane positions are not intended to limit the invention, but are exemplary, to show that vanes of a single diffuser may be directed in different directions. Dif fusers may be made with a single vane or a single set of vanes, or with plural sets of vanes as shown in FIG- URE 1.

} arises? A plurality of holes or perforations 210 I are formed through web 11 in order'that the diffuser maybe secured to a building structure. In FIGURE 2, it is shown how a diffuser may be securedto a building structure. The perforation 24 shown inFIGURE 2 has received therethrough a screw 21 which. penetrates a ceiling or wall 23 through which is provided an opening 24, for passage of gas to or from thediffuser; A duct 25 or other passageway-providing member may be connected to opening 24 to lead the gas to or from the difiuser.

As shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, each vane is shown to have a curved form so that diffused gas will be directed in a direction substantially parallel to Web 11 and ceiling or wall 23. In FIGURE 3 of the drawing, modified vanes are shown which are flat and which therefore will tend to direct air or gas passing outwardly through the diffuser in the direction of the vanes.

The vanes shown in FIGURES 1 and 2 are of elongate narrow form having curved ends. Referring to FIGURE 4 of the drawings, there is shown a modified form of vane in which the vanes are curved throughout their length. Other vane forms may be made by persons skilled in the art, of substantially any desired shape.

Referring particularly now to FIGURES 2 and 3, each individual vane is shown to be bent or shaped away from the plane of web 11. The vanes of FIGURE 2 are curved and the vanes of FIGURE 3 are flat. In the formation of each individual vane, the leading vane edge cuts are made so that the leading edge of one vane is cut from or extends into-the back, or trailing, edge of the adjacent vane. In other words, for example, the vane St is made by making a cut at its leading edge 17. This cut provides an opening 31 in web 11. As is best shown in FIGURE 2, opening 31 extends partially into the next vane 32. This extension of opening 31 is at the back or trailing side of vane 32. Vane 30 also has such an opening 31 extending into its back or trailing side. The first vane 35 of each set of vanes does not have an opening 31 at its trailing side, because there is no vane at that side thereof. With the vanes in the described overlapping relationship, it is necessary, in order that there be provided a part of web 11 to be folded in shaping the vanes that the vanes have sides or ends which are angular with respect to the leading edge of a set of vanes. In other words, a vane behind another vane must not extend to the edge of the 7 the gas to be diffused through the diffuser, as is .best

shown in FIGURES 2 and 3, is diffused from a location or zone 40 which is beneath or to one side of sheet or web 11. The portions of openings 31 which extend into an adjacent vane form the space of zone 40 to one side of web 11, this space or zone being at the side of web 11 from which the vanes extend. This feature provides that gas diffused from a diffuser is diffused not from the wall 23 side of the diffuser web 11 but instead from zone or space 40 at the other side of web 11. This effectively enhances the function of the vanes in directing the gas flow, since the gas is directed from a space at the side of web 11 toward which the gas is to be diffused. To further point up the significance of this structure, gas located in zone 40 is diffused by vanes 15, shown to be curved vanes, in a direction more .or less parallel with web 11, this being best' shown in FIGURE 2 of the drawings. Gas located in zone 40 needs move only in the vane direction to be so diffused. Were the gas diffused by the vanes from the opposite side of web 11, the gas motion would be more complicated, the gas having to change directions entirely before passing out of the diffuser.

Patented Feb. 23,1965

The diffusers described andshown may be shipped fiat. In other words, the leading vane edge cuts may be made at a factory and the vanes left unbent from the plane of Web 11. Thereafter, after shipping to a desired point, the vanes may be bent andshaped as desired for installation. The cutting or forming of the vanes may be done in any manner, such as by stamping, individual cutting with a sharp tool, with a hand die, or in any other suitable manner. The forming of the vanes may be done by employing dies to create a desired shape of vane, the die being placed against one side of the vane and another die or tool being pressed thereagainst to shape the vanes.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, many modifications thereof may be made by a person skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended to protect by Letters Patent all forms of the invention falling within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Diffuser, comprising a web of pliant material, said web having at least one pair of elongate cuts thereacross laterally spaced one from the other and defining a vane therebetween, said cuts terminating at each end thereof at points spaced from an edge of said web, said cuts being correspondingly curved at least at their end portions and the central portion of one cut extending across a line defined by the end points of the other cut, said vane being bent out of alignment with said web along said line at the vane ends extending between said cuts, whereby the leading edge of each vane is cut from the trailing side of the adjacent vane whereby a diffusion space to the same side of said web as said vanes is created.

2. Combination of claim 1,' there being a set of vanes formed by a plurality of said vanes disposed substantially parallely and adjacently across said Web, the pair of cuts defining one vane also each being one cut of a pair of cuts defining an adjacent vane.

3. Combination of claim 2, all of said cuts being of the same length, said bend lines of each vane being in alignment, the bend lines of adjacent vanes being parallel.

4. Combination of claim 3, said web including a plurality of said sets of vanes directed in different directions.

5. Combination of claim 3, said cuts also being'curved between the curved end portions thereof.

6. Combination of claim 3, said web including a depending flange therearound for increasing the rigidity thereof.

7. Combination of claim 3, said vanes being bent from the plane of said web at the time of installation thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,134,649 Will Oct. 25, 1938 2,705,973 Kice Apr. 12, 1955 2,784,659 DeRoo et a1 Mar. 12, 1957 

1. DIFFUSER, COMPRISING A WEB OF PLIANT MATERIAL, SAID WEB HAVING AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF ELONGATE CUTS THEREACROSS LATERALLY SPACED ONE FROM THE OTHER AND DEFINING A VANE THEREBETWEEN, SAID CUTS TERMINATING AT EACH END THEREOF AT POINTS SPACED FROM AN EDGE OF SAID WEB, SAID CUTS BEING CORRESPONDINGLY CURVED AT LEAST AT THEIR END PORTIONS AND THE CENTRAL PORTION OF ONE CUT EXTENDING ACROSS A LINE DEFINED BY THE END POINTS OF THE OTHER CUT, SAID VANE BEING BENT OUT OF ALIGNMENT WITH SAID WEB ALONG SAID LINE AT THE VANE ENDS EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID CUTS, WHEREBY THE LEADING EDGE OF EACH VANE IS CUT FROM THE TRAILING SIDE OF THE ADJACENT VANE WHEREBY A DIFFUSION SPACE TO THE SAME SIDE OF SAID WB AS SAID VANES IS CREATED. 